1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to a device which is useful for early detection of malignant mammary tumors and is particularly related to a device for aid in the visual detection of breast cancer.
2. The Prior Art
Several techniques are currently employed for the detection of malignant tumors in the beast in order to determine if a woman's breast has been afflicted with cancer. As discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,847,139, issued on Nov. 12, 1974 to Eric Flam, thermography is, at the present, the technique which is most widely used in medical diagnostics for the detection of breast cancer. Other procedures include physical examination, mammography and xerography.
Physical examination involves probing for lumps or masses in the breast and may be carried out by a physician or the woman herself. The disadvantage of this procedure is that lumps which are large enough to be detected by probing or palpation have often spread far enough to other areas, thus reducing the efficacy of any treatment of the cancerous breast.
Both mammography and xerography involve x-ray examinations by an experienced technician or radiologist. The procedure is time consuming, expensive for the patient and often subjects the patient to repeated radiation dosages which could result in cumulative carciogenic effects.
Thermography is based on infra-red scanning of the surface of the breast and developing a thermogram which contains temperature information corresponding to the scanned surface. Since the temperature of malignant mammary tissues are usually higher than the temperature of normal tissues, the thermogram affords a means by which the presence of localized hot spots can be detected. This technique, however, also involves the use of expensive equipment and expert technicians or radiologists to analyze and interpret the thermogram.
None of the aforementioned techniques lend itself to rapid or simple procedure for early detection of breast cancer and all of them require the patient to visit a physician, a hospital or a clinical center. Frequently, by the time the patient visits the physician or the hospital, the concerous tissues have spread irreversibly and the chance of survival may have considerably diminished.
The aforementioned patent of Flam discloses a device which is intended to aid in early detection of breast caner. The device disclosed by Flam comprises a waste-like structure including a substrate of stretchable, conformable material carrying a temperature responsive coating viewable against the background of the substrate. The temperature responsive coating is a liquid crystal system which reflects the components of incident light. When the device disclosed by Flam is worn by the woman as illustrated in FIG. 1 thereof, the temperature variations over the breast are transferred to the liquid crystal and a thermal pattern of color variations is developed which can be observed by a physician or the woman herself, and may be photographed. A single liquid crystal system with a wide temperature range, corresponding to the skin temperature of the breast of from about 85.degree. F. to 95.degree. F., is used as the temperature responsive coating, or a pair of liquid crystal systems can be used; one liquid crystal system covering the range of from about 85.degree. F. to about 90.degree. F., while the other liquid crystal system covers the range of from about 90.degree. F. to about 95.degree. F.
Another temperature-responsive device for detecting the presence of breast cancer is described by James et al in their U.S. Pat. No. 3,960,138, issued on June 1, 1976. This device is retained in thermal contact with each breast by means of a brassiere, which also contains a differential temperature integrator circuit, whereby the difference in means temperature between the two breasts may be integrated over a period of time.
A temperature-sensing patch is described in another patent (U.S. Pat. No. 3,661,142), granted to Eric Flam on May 9, 1972. The temperature-sensing patch disclosed in this patent comprises a flexible backing web having a pressure-sensitive adhesive coated on one side and a plurality of discrete temperature-sensitive indicators on the other side. Each indicator comprises a layer of encapsulated cholesteric liquid crystals, which contain cholesteric esters such as cholesteryl pelargonate (nonanate), cholesteryl chloride, oleyl cholesteryl carbonate, etc., which have the property of changing color with changes in temperature.
For further discussion of the various methods of detecting breast cancer see the article by Gershen-Cohen et al entitled "Modalities In Breast Cancer Detection Xerography, Mammography, Thermography, And Mammometry," in Cancer, December, 1969, pp. 1226-1230; see also "Advances In Thermography and Mammography," by Gershen-Cohen et al, Annals New York Academy of Sciences (1964), pp. 283-300 and "Relative Densiometric Analysis of Thermograms," by Brueschke et al., Annals New York Academy of Sciences (1964), pp. 82-89.
Notwithstanding the plethora of publications and diligent scientific research in breast cancer detection techology, xerography, mammography and thermography remain today as the principal practical methods which are available for the detection of breast cancer. As it was previously mentioned, however, all of these methods have inherent disadvantages and limitations and, in addition, they are not adapted for quick, initial mass screening which frequently proves to be a matter of life or death for persons at early states of affliction with this disease.
It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a device for use in detecting breast cancer.
It is another object of this invention to provide a device for aid in early detection of breast cancer which can be used for self-examination at home.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a breast cancer detection device which is relatively simple to use, and which does not require complicated and expensive equipment or experienced technicians or radiologists to interpret the results obtained thereby.
The foregoing and other objects of this invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the invention and the accompanying drawings.